Chosen
by Lucinda
Summary: AU post XMen 1 and BtVS s5.  Spike's lover the Slayer contemplates destiny.  Singleshot, angsty and  mentions character death.


author: Lucinda

rating: pg13 for angst, strong language, violence and sexual situations. Mentioned character death.

main characters: Marie(Rogue), Spike

pairings: sort of Buffy/Spike, Marie/Spike

disclaimer: Buffy and Spike belong to Joss, Marie is from the X-Men movie

distribution: Twisting, Mental, anyone else ask.

notes: Au post s5 BtVs, AU post X-Men movie 1

Adjusting her hair, the young woman gazing into the mirror considered her situation. She'd had a life – it might have been miserable, and filled with problems, but it had been hers. But that time was gone. Her life wasn't her own anymore, and it never would be again. All because of this so called 'gift'....

"It's time for patrol, luv." Spike's voice brought her back to the present. "Here's your stake."

"Thanks." As she accepted the stake, her voice didn't even quaver. A corner of her mind fretted that she didn't even sound like herself, and she' certainly never dressed quite like this before... Sliding the stake up her sleeve, she considered her outfit. The leather pants and jacket would help a bit with preventing scrapes and bruises. The thick-soled boots would work well, and with her Slayer strength... She blinked away the tears as she prepared for another night of patrolling the Hellmouth. Turning away from the mirror, she spoke, "Ready when you are, lover."

She could feel him behind her as she headed down the street. She didn't want to be too predictable in what order she patrolled the cemeteries - it would be too easy for some demon to arrange an ambush. And then she would be dead. The memory of Giles and his words echoed - one dies, another is chosen. Her stomach clenched and she tried to keep the tears away by willpower alone. Oh God, not again...

"If it isn't the Slayer..." The words were hissed by a group of three vampires, none of them older that thirty. They were growling at her, hostile and ready for a fight. Good, it was just vampires, and not another one of those episodes.

"Yes, the Slayer." She glared right back, pulling the stake from her sleeve. Certain that Spike would watch her back, she lunged for the first one. The fight could have been over quickly, but she had been feeling pretty upset earlier, unhappy at the way her life had been shattered. She shouldn't be here, damn it all. This shouldn't be happening to her. She hadn't been chosen for this.

She choked back a shriek of frustration as the last stupid vampire fell to dust, and slapped the dust that now covered the street. How else was she supposed to deal with this? It wasn't as if she could talk to Giles about why this felt so wrong. She owed them this.

"He's dead, luv." Spike's hand was cool on her shoulder. Slowly, he tugged her to her feet. "You're thinking too much. Fortunately, I have a solution for that little problem..."

Spike's lips crashed into hers, nipping at her mouth until she opened for him. He tasted her anger and frustration, tasted the bitter tears that she wouldn't shed. His cool fingers slid over her heated flesh, and the name was a sigh on his lips. "Buffy..."

Closing her eyes in surrender, she wished that she could be his Buffy.

Afterwards, she made certain that her clothing was back in place. She tucked the white lock of hair out of her eyes, and remembered how it had happened. It had been Spring Break - a time to get away from the hate and bad memories and just relax, just be normal kids. She'd been on the beach with Bobby, and they'd had a water-fight, something that they could both do, just like everybody else could. A way that they could pretend to be normal.

But then that group of things had attacked them. Bobby had just... it had snapped his bones and tossed him gasping to the side, and moved towards her. She'd fought, and when a lucky kick had apparently hurt the thing, she'd gone flying through the air, crashing head first into some blonde girl. Their skulls had met in an explosion of pain and everything had gone dark.

She had woken to frantic voices, calling for Buffy, and before she'd even realized it, words had emerged from her lips. "I'm right here. What happened?"

"You aren't Buffy." Had been the flat words from Xander, someone that she remembered knowing and depending on for five years.

The blond with the sharp cheekbones had growled, stalking towards her with his eyes flickering from blue to yellow. "What happened?"

"I was trying to attack those Fluker demons, and this girl came flying through the air and hit me..." The words had died away as her memories cried out in conflict. She'd been the one flung - no, been hit by a flying girl. She was Marie, a mutant; no, she was Buffy the Slayer... Her hands went to the large bump on her head and she gasped in pain. Her head hurt, and the memories were conflicting, too many memories.

That effort to duck from the pain in her head had caused her eyes to land on the body. A pretty blonde, maybe a few years older than her, hazel eyes staring blankly at the sky. Her skin had that same pale, drawn look that Cody had gotten after they'd kissed. She sank to the ground, her breathing fast as the tears began to slide down her cheeks. Her head had spun with the implications, with the tangled memories, and the pain. "Oh God no.... what's happened that's me... no, not again...."

Somehow, she'd absorbed Buffy, become everything that Buffy had been. She'd become the Slayer, stolen the other girl's life, her power, her destiny. She didn't want it, but then, neither had Buffy...

And now she had Spike. He'd been helping Buffy, loved Buffy. He'd told her that over and over, insisting that he was only helping her remember everything that had been her - had been Buffy's life. She could remember some things easily enough, her parents, her sister Dawn - Buffy's sister, that is. Remember the pain of loosing Angel. The fear when she'd faced the Master. But other things, most things were pretty vague.

But Spike was helping her remember.

Every night, she went out on patrol. Every night, she ended up in Spike's arms, panting and gasping as they shared the passion and lusts that she'd never been permitted as Marie. He always called her luv, or pet, or Slayer, or Buffy - never Marie. And every night, a little more of Marie faded away, leaving a bit more of Spike's Buffy.

The Slayer shook her head, trying to put the memories behind her. It was in the past, and she couldn't change that, couldn't change any of the past.

"Something wrong, pet?" His words curled around her, soft and seductive.

The smile felt false on her face, but she looked at him, at her pale lover in the moonlight. She'd stolen his love, didn't he deserve to have her back? Didn't her friends deserve to have Buffy instead of the girl who'd accidentally taken her from them all?

"Don't worry, Spike. It's nothing important." Her voice was even starting to sound like Buffy, all traces of Missisipi gone, washed away by the California sun. The last traces of Marie would probably soon follow, and with Bobby dead, who would even mourn her?

His arms slid around her, and he nipped at her shoulder. "Didn't think so, luv. Let's go back to bed."

She surrendered herself to him again.

End Chosen.

No prequel, no sequel.


End file.
